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Unfortunately I took ill on the last day of our holiday and this may have coloured my thoughts about Sandals but I will review this fairly.

The weather wasn't great and for the first couple of days you could only get to the island going by bus to another pier - which we did on the 3rd day and we just loved it. We went on several other days from the pier at the resort which only took a few minutes - well worth it. We snorkelled from the other side of the island and saw Turtles several times - amazing. We did enjoy the food in all the restaurants. Also loved sitting on the sofas by the fire pitts in the evening. The Piano Bar sounded like a very BAD KARAOKE BAR but we did have a few good nights there meeting up with people you'd met during the day and the bar staff were great and made us lots of lovely drinks. We were very disappointed in our room - definitely not the "luxury" that it claims - drawers wouldn't open and close properly - bath looked dirty but it was actually scratched very badly and you couldn't fill it - just leaked through the plug. It was our 40th wedding anniversary and nothing was done to make this special for us - not even a card or a letter under our door congratulating us. We've been to other resorts (not Sandals) and have always had some sort of acknowledgement on anniversaries or birthdays even if they haven't been "special" ones. Sandals was by far much more expensive than all our other All Inclusive Carribean resorts we've been to and certainly, in our opinion, not worth the extra.

I took ill, with very bad sickness and diarrhea just an hour before we were due to be picked up for the airport. Unfortunately, the hotel nurse had finished at 5pm and the receptionist gave me some medication from the first aid box (and a carrier bag to be sick in!!). By the time we tried to check in at the airport I was severely sick and was sent to the Emergency Clinic for treatment and would not be able to fly that night. My husband phoned Sandals to explain what had happened and get us a room again - bearing in mind it would be after midnight before I'd be discharged from the clinic and that I'd actually taken ill while there. We were quoted 550$ for a room. No concern was shown as to how I was. My husband pointed out that I'd only eaten and drunk at Sandals and that the Doctor had said that the reason for my illness pointed to something that I'd eaten. Again no concern was shown. We found another room elsewhere. On arriving home we received an e-mail from Sandals asking us for feedback on our holiday. My husband pointed out what had happened and that we were disappointed in the "Customer Care" and lack of concern as to my well-being, but surprise, surprise - no response from Sandals!

The people of the Bahamas are wonderfully friendly and nice. We arrived to a modern and well organized airport. We received assistance with our bags upon our request and then flew through immagration to the Sandals guest services. Once at the hotel, we were checked in and escorted to our room. The room was nice, but the Roman Tub was difficult to get in and out of due to the height. We checked in with the dive shop in the morning and our adventure began. It was wonderful. At the dive shop Wendzel and the team (Samuel, Bryan, Ramon, Damien and the rest of the staff) went out of thier way to make the dives enjoyable. I wish the night dive and shark dive was mentioned on the website as an additional fee activity. We ended up going onnour Shark Dive with Stuart Cove. We had the best dinner at Baccarats and our server, Moral, did a wonderful job.As always our adventure ended too soon. The food was really good at Spices for breakfast and lunch, there is a nice variety (drink service could be improved, took a while to get hot water for tea in the morning and drinks during lunch). The pizza was good as well as the bugers at the other two lunch places. I wish cricketer was open about 3 so we could have wings early. The staff there really take care of thier guests.

Room Tip: We are divers so I made ceratin to select the Winsor building as it is closest to the dive shop.

My wife and I had a great time at this very, very lovely resort. The beaches were beautiful and the private island was absolutely gorgeous. The staff was excellent as was the food, drinks, room, and facilities. We have been all over the Carribean and this is by far the nicest place we have stayed. We will be back. The only down-side is that eventually you will have to leave.

Can't believe it's been almost a year since our first trip to Sandals Royal Bahamian in February 2012. We've stayed at or visited almost all of the Sandals Resorts except for Antigua, Negril, and Whitehouse....and when it came time to make plans to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year there was no question that we'd come back to Sandals Royal Bahamian!

My husband and I love to travel, and we generally go to the Caribbean at least once a year. Before becoming "Sandals addicts" back in 2006 we stayed at resorts like the Westin in St. John, Grand Lido Braco in Jamaica, Breezes and Radisson in The Bahamas. Sandals is our overwhelming favorite resort chain because they are truly meant for "couples in love" -- no screaming children, no "meat market" atmosphere -- Sandals provides us with a truly romantic getaway We will be visiting again this month to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary!

Our favorite aspects of the trip were:

1. The offshore island is FABULOUS. It blows away the island at Sandals Royal Caribbean. My husband and I felt almost like were were on Gilligan's Island -- but with tasty food and drinks! It was soooooo relaxing there, and one day we had a couple's massage at the spa location on the island. It was so romantic......2. We greatly enjoyed the food and beverage throughout the resort. The breakfast buffet at Spices was great -- I don't see how people could complain about anything there -- they had tons to choose from, and they would make you any kind of eggs you wanted to order.....there were also two a la carte breakfast options, which is more than any other Sandals I've been to. There were several options for lunch -- the only thing that disagreed with me was a Jamaican-style "patty" -- everything else (especially the pizza) was great. I LOVE to eat (as you will see from our photos), and we ate at almost every spot for dinner. Our favorite was Gordon's on the Pier, followed by Casanova's and Baccarat. Eating out over the pier at Gordon's was sooooooooooo lovely and romantic.....we enjoyed the antipasti bar and lamb chops at Casanova's, and the atmosphere at Baccarat was great. 3. The resort is compact, but doesn't feel small -- unlike Sandals La Toc you don't have to do a ton of walking to get around to get from one spot to another, or to get to the ocean from your room. There are also several spots for lounging -- the "party" pool, the quiet pool, the main beach, or the island...4. The weekly Junkanoo Party was OUTSTANDING! They had great entertainment, and you could get all kinds of food and drinks in freshly-cut coconuts. It was a very fun party atmosphere.5. You simply cannot beat the location -- it is a 3-hour nonstop flight from the East Coast to Nassau, and a 15-minute drive from the newly-renovated airport to the resort. While we loved St. Lucia, the 5 1/2 hour flight and 1 1/2 hour drive the resort took a lot of time away from our vacation --- and squeezing every minute of fun out of our vacation is really important to us!6. The piano bar was great and the musician playing around the fire pits in the evening was wonderful....there were lots of spots to snuggle under the stars and recharge our batteries....

There are one or two areas for improvement -- I admit I am a karaoke-lover, and it never seemed to get off the ground at the Cricketer's Pub. Also, during our stay they were finalizing the renovations to the Balmoral Tower, so there was hammering and banging during that process which fortunately has long been completed!

So -- if you are looking for a relaxing and romantic trip to paradise -- Sandals Royal Bahamian is the place for you!

Honeymooned at Sandal's Royal Bahamian March 25 - March 31, 2013. As the other reviews stated, the water line did bust and water was off from noon - 5 PM, but there is no reason to be in the room needing water during that time in the Bahamas! We were greeted upon arrival with a nice glass of champagne and good service from two employees. We received an upgrade immediately upon arrival. We did NOT have a Butler and were happy we didnt. Butler's were seen running around the resort frequently, sent to get their guests Miller Lite across the street, etc. We thought this service was ridiculous and unnecessary. We found all employees to be extremely friendly and accommodating. People who complain about the slowness of the service should take time to relax and enjoy the vacation. Service was fine... no need to worry! We were able to get a seat at the pool everyday, where ever we wanted. We made two trips to the private island and enjoyed both. Island is great with large beach, pool with swim up bar and plenty of private sitting locations. Took the snorkeling trip provided by Sandals and had a great time. Staff is willing to assist you in getting downtown on bus or taxi. We were able to take a bus to town for $1.25, water taxi for $4.00 and were at the Atlantis is less than 30 minutes. No reason you can not go out and enjoy the Bahamas if you please, but there is no reason to do so at night. We enjoyed the piano bar despite the smell from some leak that I am sure they have fixed by now. People who complain about the smell again are too worried with small things. We enjoyed most of the dining experiences. We had breakfast delivered to our room day 2 and it was delicious! We dined at Kimonos, Baccarat, Crystal Room and Casanovas. Baccarat was probably our least favorite despite the great reviews! Had no problems getting reservations and again, had no butler service. Kimonos is a great atmosphere and you are given a good portion of every option. Tried three options at Casanovas and enjoyed all... the catch of the day was amazing! Baccarat made an attempt to be extremely formal which doesnt fit the island. Didnt love the food either. Crystal Room was again very good and had no problem getting in. No reservations necessary at Casanovas or Crystal Room. Great dining experience overall!

Drink service was great. We didnt mind getting out of our chair to get a drink when necessary. Never got the feel that drinks were watered down. I personally enjoy rum and diet, and on the private island I ordered a rum and diet and another diet to mix in with that because it was strong.

When we read the reviews prior to leaving, we were a bit worried. Sandal's Royal Bahamian exceeded all of our expectations and we hope to make it back. We stayed in the "Royal Village" and it was quiet and peaceful. There is a part of the hotel that is by the "warm pool" that plays music all day. I would suspect it may be noisy at times in those rooms.

Go to this resort. Relax. Enjoy the Bahamas and the people. No need to worry!

Room Tip: Royal Village was great!

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Stayed March 2013, traveled as a couple

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6Thank KC R

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Ask KC R about Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

I have never stayed at a Sandals before - so arriving at the resort I wasn't sure what to expect. Check-in was a little confusing - as there were a few different people trying to get us situated. We eventually got checked in - receiving only one key - asked for another one and was given one promptly. We stayed in a pool walk out room - not recommended. These rooms are extremely noisy - and by the Piano Bar - which went late the first night we were there. The next morning we asked to change rooms and they did it with no questions asked. We were there when the water was out for most of the day - but it didn't affect anything for us and they were very accommodating about letting us know when the water would be turned back on. We were too busy enjoying our peacefulness by the pool. Since I'd never stayed at a Sandals - I wasn't sure what to expect. But, it seems like there is a lot of stuff just for older people to do - our first night (we were a group of 6 couples - 1 single) we commented we felt like we were in a retirement home. There was a talent show that the staff put on - and they were funny - but just seemed a little desperate to make a talent show up. The fire pits are awesome - they should have more of those out by the ocean - that is a nice way to spend the evening drinking some wine with a blanket they give you and chilling out. The staff by the pool could have had a little quicker service - but we were in the Bahamas - so we didn't complain too much. Kimonos had great food and Spices Breakfast Buffet was awesome - the staff at all of the restaurants and the entire hotel is extremely accommodating - which makes up for it being a little boring in the evenings there. I guess it's a place to relax and go to bed early and you are not close enough to anything to walk to to at night to get out. The pizza place and Royal Cafe are great for lunches. Overall it was a great experience - and I would plan a trip to Sandals any time. Call in advance to make dinner reservations at Kimonos and Baccarat - not alot of seating and both of these places should be enjoyed while there. Otherwise your dining choices are limited.

Room Tip: Do not get a walk out patio room. It had older bedding and was not as nice as the higher up floors.

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Also Known As:

Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort And Offshore Island

Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island Hotel Nassau

Sandals Bahamas

Sandals Royal Bahamian Cable Beach

Sandals Bahamian

Sandal Resort Bahamas

Sandal Royal Bahamian

Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island Bahamas/Nassau

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